Author: Eric

Rangi & Pras / Part 1

Posted on by Eric

→ PART 1 : INDIA → PART 2 : SRI LANKA → PART 3 : AUSTRALIA

One couple. Three weddings. Three countries – India, Sri Lanka & Australia.

After reading that I’m sure you’re asking yourself the same questions I first asked myself. Who? What? Why? Where? How? As I learnt more about Rangi & Prassana and their story, their religion and their culture I discovered that what they planned was perfect.

Part 1 of Rangi & Prassana’s story takes us to Southern India, not too far from Chennai. Prasanna and his family are Hindu and are from Chennai originally before they migrated to Australia many years ago. They have family who still live in India today whom I was lucky enough to meet.  Also, there were significant cultural sites, elements and traditions which made India an important first stop on Rangi & Pras’s three part love story.

Anyone who has been to India before knows how crazy the place can be – a total assault on the senses. Let’s be honest, it’s not for everyone but for me it’s food for the soul and there is peace to be found in its beautiful chaos. What is seemingly random seems to flow like poetry and it turns out the wedding itself was no exception. Photographically it was no easy task. In fact, it was bloody hard! I love a good schedule but the sooner I could let go of that feeble concept and release myself to the experience, the sooner I could fall into it and enjoy the ride I was on.  I could not have it without my love, Katie Harmsworth. I’m so grateful for how she immersed herself into this as she always does when I’m lucky enough to have her join me. For this wedding alone we shot over 5 days and took around 10,000 photographs.

Spending that much time with any couple you’re definitely going to get to know each other pretty well, but we could have never anticipated how well the four of us would connect. We shared special moments together, a few tears, and many, many laughs. Completely aside from the pictures below, what I really took away from capturing this story is the incredibly beautiful, joyful, and humbling experience and the precious human connections that I will always hold close to my heart.

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2017 AIPP AUSTRALIAN ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Posted on by Eric

I was honoured to recently be awarded the 2017 AIPP AUSTRALIAN ALBUM OF THE YEAR.

Crazy stuff.

Capturing Susi & Omar’s love story in Egypt was an absolutely magical experience. I’m so thankful for these two stellar humans and ALL of my wonderful couples who choose me and trust me to document their most precious of days. I am constantly blown away with all of the incredible places I am taken with my camera. Don’t be fooled though, Melbourne is my home and the stories I capture on my home turf are equally special and important to me. When it comes to capturing a wedding day it’s the people that are of most importance, an exotic location is just a bonus.

Perhaps due to my background in cinematography I am a big believer in the power and importance of albums. They are much like a storyboard for a film. I feel it is the ultimate way to present what I create for my couples. An effective album is not just a random selection of images thrown onto it’s pages. There is a language and art of constructing a story with a sequence of images. It’s important to remember also that this isn’t just something that is tossed together once everything is done and dusted. The storytelling process begins it’s life in camera by not only capturing key moments on the day, but also complimentary shots and vignettes that piece together the bigger story in an expressive, emotional and creative way. This whole concept doesn’t just reside in albums either, it’s the same principle when I create my slideshows, blogposts, etc.

Some thank you’s to the team who helped bring this album to life…

Katie Harmsworth – She did such an incredible job with her amazing skills helping me photograph not only this wedding, but many others. She is a great talent, a wonderful partner and everyone that knows her will attest to what a special soul she is. I’m very grateful to have her in my life.

Momento Pro – I put these guys under the pump to create such a massive custom album in a short timeframe. They were nothing but supportive and obliging and I’m super grateful for that. They produced something truly stunning and I’m looking forward to working with Libby and the amazing team there again in the future.

Renee Blake Design – Renee is a good friend of mine and collaborates with me a lot with album design. She understands my photography and can speak the language required to communicate my stories. I’m incredibly thankful to her as a friend and colleague.

If you’ve been a part of APPA’s than you’ll know it’s a process full of mixed emotions. Ultimately though, I know it is one of many avenues that encourages me to push myself, my craft and the wedding genre so I am very proud to be involved.

Finally, thanks to the AIPP, the judges, volunteers, sponsors, state councils and everyone who makes this top notch event possible every year. Also, a massive congratulations to the other category winners who all produced such incredible work!

You can check out Susi & Omar’s full wedding story on my blog here (CLICK ME). I hope you enjoy checking out some photos of Susi & Omar’s album below…